Advertisement

Share this article

Much has been made of the two false start penalties called on Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray Thursday night against the Oakland Raiders when he would fake clap before the ball was snapped. While the team believes it has things figured out with officials and the league regarding the clapping, let’s go back and review those two penalties in particular, as well as some other penalties to see whether they warranted flags or not.

False start No. 1 on Murray: Murray made an additional head bob/body movement after the clap. Center A.Q. Shipley snapped the ball it. Murray used a hard cadence for the snap.

False start No. 2 on Murray: There was a double movement. It was difficult to distinguish whether there actually was a double clap, but there were two arm movements before the clap.

Even on the play that resulted in a safety (he was not penalized), Kyler had to clap twice to get the ball snapped. It is unsure if that was by design or if Shipley is not hearing the clap and cadence. In both instances, Murray called for the snap.

According to former NFL Vice President of Officiating Dean Blandino, clapping in the NFL is not prohibited. Extra movements are. Blandino felt the refs were “very tight” on Murray Thursday night.

There is no prohibition against clapping. You just can’t do anything abrupt to try and draw the defense offside. The action has to be smooth and deliberate. They are calling it very tight on him. I didn’t think what he was doing was abrupt.

Overall, this will be something to watch as the season unfolds. The league is leaving the call to the discretion of the officials in the field. If the refs continue to throw the flag, the Cardinals will need to alter their approach.

There were other questionable penalties.

KeeSean Johnson’s offensive pass interference: Johnson was called for pushing off. Watching this play over and over, it does not appear that the correct call was made.

Larry Fitzgerald’s offensive pass interference: It was correctly called. He was blocking before the throw was made.

Budda Baker’s personal foul: The offensive player was being tackled from behind and Baker lowered his head. Budda came in and facemask-to-facemask contact made. However, in slow motion, you can see his left arm up around the head and neck area. It was the correct call.

More Stories

In the midst of great discussion around the NFL about race and equality, former Arizona Cardinals linebacker Sam Acho penned an eye-opening article for The Players' Tribune about some of the issues of race that exist in the league.

Acho, drafted by the Cardinals in 2011 and who played four seasons for them, did not name names or specific teams, nor did he accuse any one person or organization of anything, but the examples he gave could be tied to the Cardinals.

However, before pointing out potential connections with the Cardinals, I must begin by recognizing that the Cardinals have...

From The WebAds by Zergnet

The Arizona Cardinals will not hold training camp at State Farm Stadium this year like they normally would, according to a recent report, due to the coronavirus pandemic. That means no fans will be able to attend, as is the team's longstanding practice.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter, there are a couple of other things to note about camp for the Cardinals and the rest of the league.

One is that teams will not be able to hold any joint practices during camp.

The Cardinals were going to consider that and it would have made sense leading up to their...

Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson was one of three Cardinals to be named to the NFL All-Decade team in April, recognizing the best players from 2010-2019. As he made the Pro Bowl in each of his first eight seasons, it makes sense.

However, coming off a pair of tough seasons personally, it meant a lot to him.

"I cried when I got that because going through that season last year, having the suspension and having to deal with that," he told reporters in a video conference.